vaping 101

There are many reasons why smokers are moving towards electronic cigarettes. Here is why e-cigarettes from Stogies Vapor is the best choice:

Thick smoke volume with each puff
Superior rich flavor
Able to smoke in many places that ban traditional cigarettes
No cigarette odors, ash or cigarette butts
Simple and easy screw-off, screw-on cartomizer replacement
Much lighter on your wallet than traditional cigarettes

When using any e-Cigarette devices, please, be aware that just like any other electronic product the electronic cigarette devices will deteriorate with time. The e-Cigarette rechargeable batteries are the most long-lasting part of the e-Cigarette: it will serve 2-3 months without any problems (genuine eGo batteries from JoyeTech last even longer, for almost half a year). Atomizers have a shorter lifespan. Any atomizer, and a low resistance atomiser in particular, has a typical lifespan of 2-6 weeks at the top quality functioning capabilities depending on how intensively it is being used. It is less expensive to replace compared to the batteries, and it is a good idea to replace it as soon as you feel that its quality is deteriorating. So, please, always have spare atomizers. You can clean it once or twice, but the deteriorating performance is an indication that it should be replaced. You do not want to ruin your experience with e-Cigarette. You do not burn 4 000 chemicals like with traditional cigarettes, you like the taste, you like the experience, why would you ruin it? A cartridge is the cheapest part of the e-Cigarette, but it could also be the main contributor to the product failing to perform up to the expectations. You can clean it, or change it – it is not expensive at only 60 cents.

The feeding system in all e cigs is based on physics. Due to surface tension of any liquid, the liquid will move through the thin pores or channels even against gravitational forces. It is how the wick in an atomizer is drawing the e-Liquid from the cartridge. Unfortunately, the excess of the e-Liquid in the atomizer can move, due to the same forces, in the opposite direction into the cartridge. The longer you use the atomizer and the cartridge, the more the taste of the vapour will diminish. While there is no burning process in the e cig (the e-Liquid vaporizes at much lower temperatures compared to the temperatures at which any combustion of the products can occur) some additives, particularly in flavourings of e-juice, can oxidise, which will result in a tainted vapour taste. We advise to clean or replace your atomizers and cartridges regularly. Please, follow the instructions provided in a user manual supplied with each starter kit. There are also plenty of blogs, posts and youtube clips around, which discuss how to use and maintain the electronic cigarettes.

Enjoy your experience with our quality e-Cigarette.

A Short Guide to E-cigarette

If you are a cigarette smoker and are over 18, this could be the way to stop smoking the traditional cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes are an alternative nicotine supply system, and it can be viewed as a tobacco harm reduction product. Some people eventually move along to using zero-nicotine refills, and some quit entirely. Others are just happy that they don't smoke cigarettes any more.

What ecigarette setup to choose

First, you need to buy a starter kit. It has everything you need to get you going - an ecigarette, refill liquid, and a battery charger.

There are hundreds of models but the two main, most popular and common models are Joye 510 and eGo. Joye 510 is the ”benchmark” for its type and it will serve you well as your first ecig. 510 Starter Kit is the cheapest introduction to ecigarettes and will allow you to get started at a minimum cost.

The 510 is a three-piece model with a battery, an atomizer and a cartridge. All parts can be purchased separately. The starter kit has everything you need: two complete ecigarette units, refill liquid, and a battery charger. If you are not a heavy smoker and are after an ecigarette that is reliable, light and compact, the 510 is for you.

If you are a heavy smoker, there is a good argument for buying a large-format model first, such as the eGo with larger atomizers and cartridges or tanks which hold more eliquid.

The eGo has a larger than normal battery which will last for several hours before it needs to be recharged. Instead of standard atomizers you can try the low resistance (LR) fittings which create more usable 'power', more vapour and stronger throat hit (TH).

Ecigarette components

Standard electronic cigarette has 3 parts: a battery, an atomizer (“atty”) and a cartridge (“cart”) or tank.

Since ecigarettes have special Li-ion (lithium ion) rechargeable batteries of 3.7 volts, a special charger is needed. All parts are disposable. This means that you do not have a unit that will last forever, - the individual parts have an expected service life that is a minimum of one month although they may last much longer.

Minimum number of spares

As an absolute minimum, for light use only, you will need 2 batteries, 2 atomizers, 5 cartridges and a bottle of a refill liquid. As any component could fail at any time (even within a month), it's wise to have spares for all of them. Experienced users have many spares because they don't want to be in a situation where a vital part fails and they have no backup. They will have five or ten times the quantities given above.

What is an e-liquid?

Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerine (VG) are the two main components of any e-Liquid. Typically, any e-Liquid consists of more than 99% of PG, VG or their combination, and water. The other 2 components are nicotine and flavours.

Other components like PG, VG, flavourings or ready-to-use e-liquid without nicotine could be bought in our store. Most of ready-to-use eLiquids are PG-based and suitable for most people. Some persentage of VG can be added as well, as VG increases the volume of vapour. Some ecig users are sensitive to PG and use more VG in their eLiquid (e.g., 50/50 and even 100% VG). PG usually tends to give warmer, lighter vapour and stronger flavour. VG marginally mutes the flavour, but gives more substance to the vapour, which is somewhat cooler than the PG vapour.

When you are mixing your own eliquid you can adjust the ratio of PG/VG to whatever suits you best. Ratios of PG/VG ranging from 80/20 to 50/50 are the most common. As the VG ratio increases you might need to add some distilled/deionised water to make the base less viscous.

Eliquid and nicotine strength

The most attractive advantage of mixing yourself is that you can adjust the nicotine and flavour strength according to your requirements and taste. The most common nicotine strength could vary from 4-6 mg/ml (low) to 12-16 (medium) to 18-24 (high, which is equivalent to a medium strength tobacco cigarette due to lower nicotine absorption rates from eliquid compared to smoking tobacco). There is a tendency for ecig users to reduce the nicotine strength with time, but at the beginning it is advisable to have the nicotine strength which is high enough to help a transition from tobacco smoking to vaping to be more smooth and easy.

Flavour strength is another advantage of making your own e-Liquid. There are so many flavours available on the market, and it is just a matter of finding your favourite flavour. Most of concentrated flavours are also PG-based, so PG again is the main component.

What flavour of eliquid to choose?

Just as people might prefer one brand of cigarette to others, the same is true for e-liquids - you have to try them and see. The tobacco flavours are the most difficult to replicate, so do not be disappointed if the standard ready-to-use tobacco-flavoured e-liquid does not taste as you favourite cigarette brand. Be adventurous, try new flavours you think you would like. You will be surprised at how your preferences will change with time when you find your favourite flavour. The most common ratio of concentrated flavours used in eLiquids is between 3 and 10%. Just starting with low ratio is the easiest way to find out how much flavour you need. It is advisable not to use more than 10% of concentrated flavours of the total volume of your eliquid.

When you received your starter kit, let's take the next step. The first job is to charge a battery. They are often shipped fully-charged but let's charge your spare one now.
Take an atomizer and remove any attached blank cartridges, if any. Clean the atomizer by wiping off any transport liquid from it . Holding the open end up and the threaded end down blow through the atomizer onto a paper towel. Wipe it well.

Take a fully-charged battery and screw the atomizer on lightly, but don't force it (it is particularly important for 510 ecigs – if you screw the atomizer on too tight too often, the battery contact could eventually be pushed into the battery and the contact between the battery and the atomizer will be lost).

Take your bottle of liquid. Drip three drops of liquid directly into the atomizer, which primes it ready for use. Take an empty cartridge and fill it with e-liquid. As long as the battery is fully charged, your ecigarette is now ready for use.

User technique

An ecigarette is used in a different way to a cigarette. You should try to develop a new way of using it that is not suitable for a standard cigarette. In fact, if you use an ecig as you would a tobacco cig, you won't get much benefit at all.
Instead,

· Draw (i.e., drag or pull) very, very lightly in comparison to a cigarette;

· Pull the vapour into the mouth, not the lungs;

· Draw for an extended length of time - for at least 3 seconds. This is because with a 1-second draw, the atomizer does not heat up fully, and also because there is not as much nicotine in the vapour as in a cigarette smoke;

· Use the ecigarette for twice as long as a tobacco cigarette lasts you. An ecigarette probably has half or less of the available nicotine that a tobacco cigarette has. Experienced users, using a small-format standard ecigarette model, often use a highly extended drag in order to get sufficient hit: they draw (lightly) for 6 or 8 seconds.

If I have a burnt taste from atomizer

If you get a burnt taste when using ecig, it means that eliquid from the cartridge or tank does not reach the heating element in the atomizer, and you dry burn your atomizer. As a result, the wick in the atomizer, which helps to draw the eliquid from the cartridge to the heating element, will get crisp dry, stop wicking and eventually will get burnt. The most likely cause is that your cartridge is empty or the eliquid is too thick (particularly with high VG content) and should be thinned with the PG or distilled water (about 10% if you use 100% VG eliquid).

Habit or addiction?

For some people, smoking is simply a habit they can quit easily if they have some form of substitute. For others, it is a true addiction which is extremely hard to overcome.

Note that, when classified as an addiction, it has several components. Nicotine is one of them, but there are at least two other factors: the other chemicals in cigarettes can be addictive, so that cravings are still experienced even when nicotine is supplied from another source; and the physical process of smoking can be addictive: the hand to mouth action, the holding of the item, the choice and the purchase, and, in fact, the whole procedure. Addiction can be a complex affair and it is frequently found that nicotine is not the sole component. This is why quitting tobacco can be very hard for some people, as there are multiple factors involved. Some people can still experience cravings for a cigarette even while using an ecigarette, which shows that there are other addictive components in tobacco smoking apart from nicotine.

If I still have cravings

You could take the view that this is not important, and an occasional cigarette can still be smoked, until this phase passes - or you could try to accelerate the process. If so, there are some steps that could help to fix the problem:

1. Increase the strength of the nicotine in your refills, and/or use a stronger flavouring. If you are on the common medium strength 18mg refills then this is an obvious place to start. However, do not exceed the maximum recommended strength of 24-28 mg/ml.
2. Increase the power output of your hardware. Move to a larger battery e-cig with LR low resistance atomizers often helps.

Storage

You should store your e-liquid in a cool, dark place as it may be affected by the light and the warm temperature. The most common base component, PG, is actually a bactericide and virucide so it is usually not prone to degradation. Nicotine is degraded by exposure to light and air.

All materials MUST be kept out of the reach of children and pets. Materials must be stored in such a way that other family members will not mistake them for cooking ingredients or medication. Concentrated nicotine is a dangerous poison and must be treated as such.

Problems

The single biggest problem new users have is that they don't know anything about the whole affair. It is certainly not comparable to buying cigarettes, sticking one in your mouth, and lighting it up.

Therefore, the desired result may not be achieved easily. Especially the newcomers may not get much nicotine due to a poor user technique. Several studies have shown that the new users commonly have very little or even no nicotine at all in their blood after using a new ecigarette with low / medium strength liquid - so it is very important to buy the correct liquid, to set up the equipment properly, and to use it correctly.

Maintenance

There are some basic maintenance issues that can be researched by looking up these points at the forum boards. For example, atomizers often need cleaning, and cartridges may benefit from modification of the filler material to take account of the different viscosities of various liquids; sometimes they either leak, or don't wick fast enough, due to the filler in the cartridge being incompatible with the liquid.

This product contains nicotine, a chemical known to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. The Stogies Vapor electronic cigarette is intended for use by smokers 18 years or older (21 where applicable). You must be of legal smoking age in your area to purchase and/or use our products. Stogies Vapor electronic cigarette products are not for use by children, women who are pregnant or breast feeding, or by those who are at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or are taking medication for depression or asthma. Do not use this product if you are sensitive or allergic to nicotine or the additive propylene glycol. This product is sold for recreational use only. Stogies Vapor electronic cigarette products are neither intended nor marketed as a quit smoking aid or cessation device. Nicotine is extremely addictive and habit forming. Keep out of reach of children and pets